Shell Unit Back In Hot Seat In Human Rights Case

Law360, New York (November 17, 2009, 4:49 PM EST) -- Taking a cue from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a federal judge has overturned an earlier decision removing Shell Petroleum Development Corp. from litigation that alleged the oil giant played a role in massive human rights violations in Nigeria in the 1990s.

On Monday, Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted named plaintiff Esther Kiobel's motion for reconsideration, reversing her own 2008 ruling that found the U.S. courts had no jurisdiction over the...